Closure holding device



Oct. 27, 1931. H. A. GUSTAFSON CLOSURE HOLDING DEVICE Filed Nov. 28, 1927 IIIIIIA IIIIIA INVENTOR 86 Wkfim SM MM ATTO R N EY Patented Oct. 27, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFER HENRY A. GUSTAFSON, OF IDORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSZGNOR T PNEUMATIC SCALE CORPORATION, LIMITED, OF QUINCY, IEASSACHUSETTS, A. CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS CLOSURE HOLDING DEVICE Application filed November 28, 1927. Serial No. 236,039.

This invention relates to a closure holding device for use in a closure applying machine. The object of the invention is to provide a ,novel, simplified and improved closure s'holding device which may be economically manufactured and is adapted for general and efficient use in different types of closure applying machines. With this object in view and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the closure holding device hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the improved closure holding device; Fig. 2 is a sectional detail of a portion of the closure holding deviceshown in Fig. 1, the section being taken at right angles to the section of Fig. 1; Fig.

3 is a cross-section on the line 33 of Fig.

1; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional detail of a modified form of mouth-piece for the closure holding device; Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the same with parts broken away; and Fig. 6 is a cross-section through one of the friction diaphragms to be referred to.

Referring now to the drawings, the preferred form of chuck is illustrated in Fig. 1 wherein 10 represents a housing adapted to be secured bymeans of bolts 12 to a coupling member 13 pinned or otherwise secured to the end of the operating shaft 14 of the closure applying machine. As is well known, in such closure applying machine the operating shaft 14 is arranged to be raised and lowered and to be rotated to place the cap or closure upon the bottle or other container and for rotating the chuck to screw the cap or closure upon the container.

The housing 10 has detachably secured thereto a mouth-piece indicated generally at 15, and in the construction of chuck illustrated in Fig. 1 the mouthpiece is detachably secured to the housing by being screwed onto a supporting piece 16. The mouth-piece 15 is provided with an opening 17 for the reception of the cap or other closure, and as herein shown the opening 17 is formed in a member 18 secured by bolts 19 to the body of the mouth-piece 15. The mouth-piece 15 is provided with a friction diaphragm 20 herein shown as comprising a disk of rubber or similar material having an opening 21 therein and which is clamped between the member 18 and the body of the mouth-piece 15, as shown in Fig. 1.

Provision is made for holding the cap within the mouth-piece l5, and as herein shown provision is made for creating suction within the mouth-piece 15 above the top of the cap or other closure and accordingly the space 22 above the diaphragm 20 is connected by means of a flexible tube 24 and through an annular passage 25 to an inlet opening 26 in the housing, the latter being arranged to be connected to some convenient source of supply of vacuum or suction such as a vacuum pump. A suitable gasket 27 seals the space within the housing immediately below the end of the operating shaft 14 as shown.

Provision is also preferably made for permitting the mouth-piece 15 to swivel with relation to the housing 10. As herein shown the bottom piece 30 of the housing is provided with a tapered hole in which the tapered portion of the supporting piece 16 is fitted to permit the supporting piece to rise with relation to the housing. The upper surface of the supporting piece 16 is rounded and arranged to engage an abutment 32 the latter being engaged by the lower end of a compression spring 34 as shown. Provision is also made for insuring the rotation of the mouth-piece 15 with the housing 10 as the latter is rotated with the shaft 14, and accordingly the abutment member 32 is provided with arms 36 which are arranged to extend into slots 38 in the housing and the abutment member is further provided with depending portions 4o which are received within slots 41 in the supporting piece 16 as shown in detail in F 1 and 2.

lVith this construction of closure holding device, when suction is supplied to the space 22 above the diaphragm 20 within the mouthpiece 15, the suction serves to retain within the mouth-piece a cap or closure which has been placed within the opening 17 with the top of the cap engaging the diaphragm 20.

During the operation of the closure applying machine, after the cap has been placed within the mouth-piece by the usual cap feeding mechanism and is held therein by the suction as above'described, the closure holding device is caused to descend and the cap is forced onto the mouth of the container. As the operating shaft 14 is rotated the friction of the diaphragm 20 on the top of the cap or closure causes suflicient torque to be exerted upon the cap to screw it upon the mouth of the con tainer.

From the description thus far it will be observed that the construction of mouthpiece illustrated in Fig. 1 is such that it may be'used for holding a wide range ofsizes of commercial caps and that in the event that it is desirable "to adapt the machine; for other sizes, it will be observed that the mouth-piece 15 may be V 15;is arranged to becapable of being screwed onto the supporting piece 16 of the closure holding device and is provided with four jaws 50 arranged to be capable of being moved inwardly between-the body of the mouthpiece 15 andthe face plate 52 to diminish the size of the effective size of the opening 17 Within the mouth-piece.

the mouth-piece 15 is provided with a series As herein shown of slots54and each jaw 50 is provided with, an inclined slot 55 and the clamping bolts 19 are arranged to extend through the slots whereby 'the j aws are permitted to be moved inwardly and atthe same time to be maintained spaced equi-distant around the periphery of the opening 17. Each-jaw is provided with a bevelgportion- 56 which serves to guide the cap or other closure into the circular space within the jaws and to permit the top of the cap to be engaged byfthe diaphragm 20 in acentralized position Within themouth-piece of the device.

With the construction of mouth-piece illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 it is possible to design the mouth-piece so that it is adapted to hold the largest size of commercial cap forwhich the machine is designed and by adjustment of the jaws 5O inwardly it is possible to adapt the mouth-piece to a large range of smaller caps or closures.

. From, the foregoing descriptionit will be observed that a closure holding device embodying the present invention either in the formillustrated in Fig. 1 or in the modified form illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 is extremely simple in construction as compared to the prior constructions of chucks which have heretofore being employed upon bottle cappingmachinesand the mechanically actuated gripping jaws for gripping the closures as,

well as the mechanism for operating'such jaws of these prior machines have been eliminated. As above statedthe present closure holding device is adapted for use upon a relatively large rangeof sizes of caps or closures and will operate successfully irrespective of the particular design of the cap or closure. In additiomwhen it is desired to adapt the machine to sizes of caps beyond the range for which theparticular mouth pieceis designed, a largeror smaller IIIOUtlI-PlCG may quickly andreadily be applied to the'device. While thepreferred embodiments of the invention have been herein illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the invention may be embo'diedin other forms within the scope of the following claims.-

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is.: 1

,1. A chuck fora rotary closure applying machine comprising ahousi-ng'provided with a downwardly taperinghole in the bottom wall thereof, a closure holding member'carried by the housing comprising a supporting piece located within the housing and having a tapered portion extended through and fitting into the tapered hole in the housing, means for connecting the housing with the supporting piece to permit rotation of. said closure holding member when the housingis rotated, and a compression spring, within the housing acting upon the top of the supporting p ece. v 2. A chuck for a rotary closure applying machine'having, in combination a housing provided with a vertical slot, a c osure holding member, connections'between the housing and closureholding member having provision for permitting rotary movement of the housing to be imparted to said closure holding member,said connections ncluding a supporting piece extended through the bottom zwall of the housing and movablewith relation thereto, a compression spring within the housing, a block urged against the supporting piece by the spring and having a portion received within the vertical slot in the housing,

and m-eansfor detachably securing the closure'hclding member upon the supporting piece. I

3. A chuckfora' rotary closure applying machine having, in combination, a housing provided with a vertical slot, a closure holdmg member, connectionsbetween the housing and closure holding member having pro-. vision for permitting rotary movement of 1 the housing to be imparted to said closure holding member, said connections including .a supporting piece extended through the bottom wall of the housing and movable with;

relation thereto, a compression spring within the'housing, a block urged againstthe supporting pieceby the spring and having a portionreceived within the vertical slot in the housing.

iii)

4. A'chuck for a rotary closure applying machine comprising a housing provided with a suction passage, a closure holding member, a tapered supporting piece extending through the bottom wall of the housing, and upon the lower end of which the closure holding member is mounted, connections between the housing and supporting piece for imparting rotation to the supporting piece and closure holding member upon rotation of the housing, and a flexible hose within the housing for connecting the suction passage with the closure holding member.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HENRY A. GUSTAFSON. 

